WAR IS NOT PEACE

is an artistic and humanitarian project born from the desire to act together against the war in Ukraine, to support its people, and to give voice to Ukrainian artists in their struggle for freedom.

The first edition of the project, held from April to May 2022 at Espace 29, resulted in an exceptional three-week residency, organized in the urgency of the war’s outbreak and marked by the first repatriations.

WAR IS NOT PEACE offered a series of encounters with Ukrainian artists, as well as events featuring artworks, performances, installations, film screenings, round tables, and a series of artistic and charitable evenings that helped raise funds for the Ukraine Amitié association.

WAR IS NOT PEACE 2.0

is a micro-residency / carte blanche given to three Ukrainian artists: Alyona Tokovenko, Anti Gonna, and Denys Zhdanov.
In an absurd way, the artists’ personal research is recycled, mixed, and questioned by the artificial intelligence GPT-4, in order to create a shared conception and to become the virtual curator of this residency.

Credits: Pasha Kuznetsov

The artists come together around themes such as violence, false nostalgia, the transformation of collective memory, mutations of the body imposed by border crossings, and forced changes in ways of life. Their work also explores new visions of sexuality, seen through the lenses of trauma, physical trials, fear, violence, and proximity to death.

Credits: Pasha Kuznetsov, Yiyang Wang

The residency takes place at Espace 29, an alternative art space in Bordeaux (France), from June 22 to 25, 2023, with the support of the cultural association Ukraine Amitié.